Forget-Me-Not
by MikazukiDreams
Summary: "My name's Sakura. Who are you?" Nobody believed that Sakura had moved on over Sasuke. But maybe she didn't move on; maybe she just forgot.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **"My name's Sakura. Who are you?" Nobody believed that Sakura had moved on over Sasuke. But maybe she didn't move on; maybe she just forgot.

_**Standard disclaimer applies here**_

* * *

**Forget-Me-Not  
**_By: MikazukiDreams_

* * *

It's hot, Sakura realizes.

It's not a warm, sunny kind of hot that reminds you of summer and sunshine and beaches and sparkling cool oceans. It's not the kind of hot that reminds you of hot springs that you go to with your friends when the weather is cool and you need to warm up.

It's a sweltering kind of hot, with sticky humidity clinging to your skin and dripping down your face inelegantly. It's a burning kind of hot, not so in good way; it's the kind that turns your skin lobster red and makes you feel dry to the bone. It's an uncomfortable kind of hot that makes you want to go to your best friend's house, put on some silk pajamas, and pig out on ice cream while blaring boy band songs on your bestie's stereo.

And while Sakura would love nothing more than to go to Ino's for a girls' night, she can't. She _couldn't. _

How can you go home if you had no clue where you were?

~*X*~

_Fog. _

Or at least that's what Sakura thinks she sees as she stumbles about, trying to avoid the blurry whiteness surrounding her. It made her feel enclosed and locked in, wrapped up like a fly after being caught in a spider web.

The fog made it impossible to see where she was going. Green and brown patches of colour peeked out from the dreary fog, but that was it. She had no clue where she was or where she was heading.

Hopefully it was close to home.

At the word _home, _her mind fills with images of her friends- her two loud but incredible best friends, her loving (but perverted) sensei, her strong shishou, and her fellow shinobi.

And most of all, she thinks of _him._

He had returned a few months ago, not entirely by force but not exactly by free will, either. He had grown taller and leaner and stronger and if it were even possible, even more _handsome_. Despite of what he did, the ladies in the village- young or old, skinny or fat, married or single- _still _made big doe eyes at him. He was still the item in every girl's dream, still the envy in every boy's eyes.

It had taken a while, but eventually he got his redemption. He got his name back, his status back, and his old-but-new life back. And later on, everyone's trust.

Except hers.

She knows that maybe she's being selfish because she knows he's sorry. She knows he didn't mean what he did, and that he was foolish and blind at the time. He'd apologized a hundred, a thousand, a _million _times to her already, but she doesn't waver, doesn't break down.

Because sometimes, sorry isn't enough. It isn't enough to heal the scars left behind, which still sting even after all these years. It doesn't take back all the tears she'd shed since he left.

It doesn't fix the shattered heart she had carefully taped back together; with the flaws still showing and the cracks still visible.

So she'd ignored him when he returned. She had avoided him like a plague, spending her days and (sometimes) nights locked up in the hospital, looking over medical scrolls and performing jutsus on injured patients. She had turned down all of Naruto's "team reunion ramen at Ichiraku's!" and all his offers to train with the rest of Team Seven. She'd shut him out of her life, because she wasn't ready.

But now? Now, as she staggers towards wherever, going to wherever, she wishes she had one last chance to see him. Her mind is throbbing in unbearable pain, and her legs feel like heavy lead, weighing her down. She breaks down in shivers every once in a while, even if the sun is burning her skin and sweat drips down her neck. She yearns to go home, to lie in bed and to take a nice, long nap in her soft sheets and plushy pillow. But she can't.

She'd been so _stupid_!

She was only this way because of her carelessness. She was the best medic in all of Konoha (with the exception of Tsunade, of course) and yet she couldn't heal herself! Sakura had barely noticed the poison-dipped kunai until is skinned her cheek. She's brushed it off; telling herself it was just a small cut, no worry- not even thinking for a minute that the weapon was dipped in a colorless and odorless substance, which was _clearly_ made by an advanced shinobi. It wasn't until later when the pain hit her like a wave, slowly eating up her chakra and taking away her energy.

So here she is, stumbling around like a lost traveler somewhere. Black spots dance in her vision as she pushes forward, breathing deeply and trying so very, very hard to keep her heavy eyelids open. She hadn't felt this fragile in _years _since her training with Tsunade. And despite the promise she made to herself that she would never, ever, _ever _be that weak little girl she once was, she couldn't help but wish for someone to come and save her.

The black spots grew bigger and bigger in her vision covering the blurry white, and something hard catches on her foot. Sakura falls down in a crash, slicing her arm on something sharp- probably a rock- and winces in pain.

Warm liquid gushes out messily, and Sakura tries desperately to close up the wound. She's losing blood quickly and she's getting more and more exhausted and she can't stop now, because she _wants to go home. _

But her fingers fumble about, quivering, and she just can't seem to channel of her carefully-controlled chakra into her hand. The black spots dance, and dance, and grow, and grow, until she's sure it's going to swallow her whole. She then realizes that it _wasn't _fog after all; just her bleary, unfocused vision caused by the poison.

She tries to call out but her throat is so dry and it comes out in a raspy whisper, instead of the loud yell she wants. She tries to get up but she falls down every time, falling into a pool of her own blood. She tries to crawl but she can't, because she's exhausted and her arm hurts and she's hurt and everything _hurts. _

The black spots grow bigger and bigger until everything's black.

The last thing she says is the name she hadn't said in a very, very long time.

"_Sasuke."_

~*X*~

"Inuzuka, Arkamaru! Take left, sniff out the place to see if we're being chased. Hyuuga, take right. Scan the place for any intruders. I'll take ground. Let's move!"

Neji and Kiba both nod once and leap up from where they were standing into the dark green treetops above Sasuke's head. Sasuke dashes forward to catch up, Sharigan activated and fully alert.

They'd been sent on a mission to take down a ring of thieves by the docks in the Rain Country, and had finished early. It'd been easy, taking out a bunch of non-ninja people and scaring them. Now, they were returning back to Konoha, and keeping a close lookout for any followers. Because, of course, Tsunade wouldn't send _both _prodigies on a mission that would end up being like a piece of cake, right?

Right.

As soon as he thinks such a thought, a faint chakra catches Sasuke's attention. He narrows his eyes and scans the forest floor, trying to see where it was coming from.

He pinpoints that location easily, and feels surprise when the shinobi didn't attack or even seem to come close to him. In fact, the chakra level seemed to be getting lower and lower, fainter and weaker by the second.

Curiosity gets the best of him as he makes a run for where the chakra was sensed. From a distance, he can see a limp figure lying in a pool of… blood?

His breath catches in his throat as he stares at the figure not even a hundred meters away. There's no mistaking it.

The figure has _pink hair_.

There's only one person Sasuke knows that has pink hair. There's only one person in Sasuke's life that has pink hair. There's only one person with pink hair in Sasuke's life that makes Sasuke's heart pound and skip a beat and she's there. Right there.

There, not even a hundred, fifty, twenty-five, zero feet away.

His eyes widen in horror as he takes in the sight before him. The lovely kunoichi he had come to respect was lying there, in a pool of her own blood, with a nasty, nasty cut down her arm and pale, sweat-drenched skin. Her body looks like a limp ragdoll, lifeless and empty.

Her skin looks gray and old and bland and it _scares _Sasuke at how _dead _she looks, and how her eyes are shut tight and a pained expression was morphed on her pretty face.

Without thinking, because _what was there to think about when she's lying there and lifeless- _he picks her up and holds her close to his chest, before taking off into a run. She's light in his muscular arms, and despite everything Sasuke finds that she smells good; like vanilla and soft floral scents.

He barely makes it a thousand yards when his senses perks up, sensing the rogue ninja he'd been waiting for. He curses at the bad timing, and plans on what he's going to do with the almost-dead (but hopefully not) girl in his arms. He can't leave her behind and fight off the ninja surrounding him; but he can't hold her and let these ninja follow him back to the village. What was he supposed to do?

As if some almighty greater being heard worries, Neji and Kiba arrive to the scene. Kiba pants out, "Hey, we sensed-" before cutting himself off and stares at the recognizable pink-haired unconscious girl in Sasuke's arms. He then turns and grinds his canines together fiercely as he takes in all the rogue ninja surrounding them, waiting to strike.

"Uchiha," Neji commands, "Take Haruno back to the village. Inuzuka and I will finish these fools off."

Normally, Sasuke would be furious if anybody commanded him to do something when he was the leader. But this time, he just gives his teammates a curt nod, before disappearing amongst the treetops.

Because Sakura's life is on the line, and swallowing his pride for that was worth it.

~*X*~

While he runs, he looks upon her (beautiful) face.

She'd grown over the years he'd been gone, and if he wasn't so prideful he'd tell her she was beautiful. But he's Sasuke, an Uchiha no less; he was known for his pride and Uchiha's didn't just compliment pretty pink-haired girls on their looks.

Silently, on the inside, he thinks she's beautiful. He'd noticed that the very first day he'd returned.

Her once-long-then-cut-short pale pink hair was grown out again, her long, silky hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Her pale skin was soft like a baby's skin, clear and flawless. Her figure was slim but muscular and graceful like a dancer, with long creamy legs. Her green eyes sparkled when people talked to her, her pretty pink lips lifting into a smile whenever her friends made a funny joke.

But she never, ever smiled when she looked at _him. _It was ironic, really; Sakura Haruno, the loyal girl who used to chase Sasuke Uchiha and pester him to no end didn't bother sparing him a glance anymore. It bothered him for some unusual reason and made his heart clench.

_Maybe, _he thinks as he tightens his grip of her, holding her just a bit closer to his chest, _maybe, when she gets better -_(because she _will_)_- I'll swallow my pride and take her out. Then we'll talk. _

An unconscious smirk finds a way to his lips as he thinks about a possible future date with the lovely kunoichi currently cradled in his arms.

~*X*~

_Ouch… _

Sakura winces as she opens her eyes, immediately greeted by a blinding white light. Her mind searches for what happened before, but she can't think at all; her head is _throbbing _and it feels like it's on fire.

A cool hand is gently placed on her forehead, and her eyes focus on a blonde lady staring worriedly at her.

"Tsunade-shishou," she croaks, and her mentor immediately smiles.

"Sakura. I'm glad you woke up," Tsunade says, an obvious relieved smile on her beautiful face. "Your friends came here to see you."

Tsunade stands back, and Sakura sits up. In her room were her best friend Ino, her other blonde best friend Naruto, Hinata, and a quiet dark-haired boy who was leaning casually by the wall.

"FOREHEAD!" Ino shrieks, and tackles her in a fierce hug. "I THOUGHT YOU DIED, YOU CRAZY WOMAN! DON'T YOU DARE PULL THAT SHIT AGAIN ON ME, YOU HEAR ME?!"

Sakura grins at her best friend's emotional outburst. "Yes, Pig. I promise it won't happen again."

"It better not," Ino says, and Sakura's touched that there are tears in her friend's eyes. "I was really worried."

The minute Ino removes herself from Sakura, Naruto attaches himself to her.

"SAKURA-CHAN! I WAS SO SO WORRIED AND IF IT WEREN'T FOR TEME YOU MIGHT'VE DIED! Oh and I bought you ramen from Ichiraku's, in case you were hungry."

"Why thank you, Naruto," Sakura smiles gently. "But who's teme?"

Naruto's eyebrows scrunch up at Sakura's words. "What do you mean, 'Who's teme'? He's standing right there!" he adds, pointing to the quiet boy leaning against the wall.

Sakura blinks, her eyes showing obvious confusion.

Hinata chooses this moment to interrupt, saying in a soft voice, "I'm so happy you're awake, Sakura. We were all very worried about you."

Sakura glances at the shy Hyuuga heiress standing behind Naruto, fingers twiddling. "Thank you, Hinata. I'm glad I'm awake too," she adds jokingly.

Her bud green eyes then focus on the dark-haired boy leaning casually on the wall.

"Hey," she says, smiling brightly. "Um, thank you for saving me." The boy's dark eyes look up at her, eyes widening slightly.

"So, um… yeah." She smiles awkwardly. "It's so embarrassing to have a stranger come save you," she blurts out, turning bright red. "I must've looked pretty bad, huh?"

Naruto makes a strange cough/choking sound at her words, and the boy opens his mouth to reply but she interrupts him. "But I really appreciate it. I mean, a lot of people could've just left me there, so yeah. So thank you."

"By the way," she adds, rambling, "My name's Sakura. Who are you?"

And she's so immersed in her rambling that she fails to notice the shocked looks on her fellow teammates and her strict mentor. And the boy. The strange boy who saved her.

* * *

**Note… **So here's the new story I said I'd post. It's probably not the greatest idea, posting another multi-chapter story with my overloaded schedule but I can't help myself! And I've got this one allllllll planned out, start to finish. It's going to be in the Naruto world (it's called canon or something like that, I think?) and yeah. I'm excited to see how this one's going to go. So leave a review, yeah? :)

LOVE YOU'S.

-A


	2. Chapter 2

Thick silence fills the room.

Somewhere nearby, the low hum of a heater rumbles and a fan whirls, but Sasuke takes no notice; neither do the frozen figures standing in the room with him. Sitting on the bed, the pale rosette is looking intently at him, waiting for his reply, but he does not answer.

Instead, Sasuke takes this frozen moment in time to register everyone's faces.

Ino's baby blue eyes are wide, as if in great shock. Naruto's facial expression was morphed into something like utter confusion, and Hinata's concerned lavender eyes stare at Sakura worriedly. Even Tsunade, the sharp and clever woman who had taught Sakura for three years, stared at her brilliant student with unreadable eyes.

What did he feel? Well, he couldn't pinpoint _exactly _how he felt at the moment, but he's sure it's somewhere between utter disbelief and boiling anger.

"Who are you?" the pink-haired girl repeats, apparently impatient with everyone's silence, particularly his. She swings her feet over the edge of the bed so she's facing them, pale feet dangling over the side of the white hospital bed and grazing the cool ceramic floor of the hospital.

It's a simple question, really, with a simple answer. All she requested was his name, which would take him about two seconds to say, and then he would be able to leave.

But he doesn't. The answer burns in his throat, refusing to come out, and his mind is spinning from her question. It's not actually her question that bothers him; it's _why _she asked the question. She asked in such an innocent tone, so clueless and soft and undeniably polite, like she really didn't know who he was.

Just what kind of game is she playing here?

"Sakura-chan, what do you mean?" Naruto asks, snapping back to reality. "He's Sasuke-teme. You know, the bastard. He was on our genin team, remember? With you and me and Kakashi-pervert."

Sakura let out an amused laugh. "No he wasn't, silly! _Sai _is on our team. I know you hate him, but that's no reason to cut him out. Though this guy _does _look a lot like Sai…"

Naruto opens his mouth then shuts it. Ino decides to step in then, inputting, "Forehead, how can you not remember Sasuke? He's been with us since our days at the academy!" Sasuke notices that Ino doesn't mention anything about his betrayal (the word still tastes sour on his tongue), as if it weren't important.

"I don't know him!" Sakura says, shaking her head. "Maybe you guys are thinking about somebody else. I have never heard of _anyone _named Sasuke."

"Sakura-san," Hinata replies gently, "Sasuke grew up with us." They were all partial lies. He grew up with them, yes, then moved away and came back. But Sasuke doesn't say anything about it; he just watches the pinkette sitting before him, who was analyzing him carefully.

Sakura glances at the shy Hyuuga heiress, and she sighs in defeat (probably because the Hyuuga barely talks, and Sakura knows the shy girl would never lie).

"I'm sorry," she finally murmurs, turning to him, "I know I may be acting a little rude right now, but I really don't know. Your face is not familiar at all. I have never heard your name before, so I doubt your last name is going to make a difference."

"Uchiha." He says his name quickly, as if it would spark some kind of familiarity in her mind.

"Never heard of it."

Her response is quick as well, as if she didn't even bother thinking about it. Sasuke feels his anger slowly bubbling to the surface at the rosette's attitude, and he tries to push it down with all his might, hoping he doesn't snap on the girl. His temper had always been bad, almost uncontrollable at times, and he didn't feel like it would be right for him to lash out that very second on a girl who was just recovering.

But it doesn't help. His anger level is rising slowly, against his will, and he knows he will snap if she pushes him on.

"So, who are you? I want you to introduce yourself." Her tone is soft once again, innocent and naïve and fake, Sasuke decides. She's being _unreal. _

And so, he snaps.

Crossing the room in three quick strides, he grabs her upper arm in not a harsh way, but enough to let her know he's angry.

"What kind of game are you playing here, Sakura?" he snaps angrily. "It isn't funny."

Instantly, Sakura's eyes narrow. _"Excuse me?"_ she hisses darkly, voice dripping with malice. "Are you calling me a _liar, _you _ass_!"

Sasuke had heard of Sakura's infamous temper, but had never seen it himself before. Now, he was witnessing it, firsthand, front-row seat. And needless to say, it could easily rival his very own infamous temper.

"Stop pretending like you don't know me, Sakura. If you think something as stupid and as shallow as _that _is going to attract my attention, you're wrong. So drop the act already. You're embarrassing yourself," he hisses back, with equal rage.

"Don't flatter yourself, you peabrain!" Sakura screeches, and winces as her voice cracks. "I. Don't. Know. You." Adding on to it, she adds, "I don't think I _want _to, either. You're a first-class jerk, you know that?"

Sasuke then makes the mistake of looking directly into Sakura's eyes, which proved to be a fatal mistake.

Sakura's vibrant green eyes had always been the one obvious giveaway to her feelings. The girl could plaster on a fake smile and fool regular people easily, but not shinobi. Her eyes gave away everything her face didn't; it gave away everything she didn't express or say. She'd learned to hide her revealing emotions in her eyes well in the few years he'd been gone, but if he searched for it, there would always, always be a tiny, tiny giveaway; a tiny glint or sparkle or glare that revealed her inner turmoil.

But now, her eyes reveal everything, without even bothering to cover it up. Looking into her eyes, Sasuke sees her genuine confusion, her fury, her frustration, and her clueless look to who he is.

It scares him, this raw and real and true empty feeling she's giving him. It creates a bitter, empty feeling in his chest that he absolutely despises, and he hates it. The reality of the situation hits him like a ton of bricks, nearly knocking his breath out at every word.

Sakura doesn't remember him.

_Sakura _doesn't remember _him. _

Sakura _doesn't remember _him.

He doesn't want to believe it, but her eyes don't lie. She's staring at him now, confused at his sudden silence, his sharp intake of breath, and the anger pooling in his dark orbs. Sasuke could feel the others' burning eyes at his back, where the proud Uchiha crest was sewn in. They're waiting, he knows, for him to do something. She's waiting too, watching him carefully; her body stiff as if she was ready for an attack.

He releases a breath he doesn't know he's been holding, as well as her arms. She jerks away from him, rubbing her arms, eyes never leaving his face.

Sasuke backs away from the bed carefully.

"I don't know you," she whispers for the hundredth time, and Sasuke turns away.

"Whatever," he bites out, before storming out of the hospital.

~*X*~

After a few hours' of training (venting) which resulted in destroying all of training ground three, Sasuke arrives home, sweaty and bloody and exhausted. The day's events were running through his head a hundred miles per hour, giving him a massive headache.

He'd been unfocused during his training, thoughts still consumed by Sakura (who seemed to be in his thoughts more and more every day), and ended up cutting and bruising himself.

Shaking his head, he brushes it off, shuffling to the bathroom for a warm shower.

As he showers, his mind wanders back to _her. _Every time he thinks of her, a burning desperation and panic feeling fill his chest. Wasn't this what he always wanted? For annoying little Sakura to leave him alone? Sighing to himself, he scrubs the dirty grime off his arms.

It was ironic, really; because now, when Sasuke wants-_yearns - _for Sakura's undivided attention, it's no longer available to him.

The thought disturbs him more than he thinks is imaginable; after all, he is an _Uchiha, _and Uchiha's don't think about pink-haired beauties all day.

Thinking this, Sasuke realizes another thing: he isn't _just _an Uchiha, though.

He's also _Sasuke._

* * *

**Note… **sorry, I know it's a really short chapter, so I'll make the next one longer. I'm tied up with _Crime and Punishment _for English class right now, and it's a big PAIN IN DA ASS. Yuck.

-A


End file.
